Hajj Reflection #12: The tongue

Guarding the tongue: in the holy lands or not! Often we are cautioned to be extra careful with what we think, say or do when in the holy lands, for strange things do happen as reminders from the Almighty.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ ۖ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَحِيمٌ
O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.
(Al-Hujuraat: 12)

Keeping in all positivism is not so difficult to do, biiznillah! If we keep our focus on our own ibadah and dismiss everything else without letting them bother you, it can all be done. Prior to departure, a dear sister had always reminded me to not spend too much time in groups, and busying self with small talk. Instead, keep yourself occupied with the quran or any other supplications while waiting.

In most cases, we often talk about or complain about our roommates and the organizers/ administrators. Keep it in and redha. Istighfar and smile, consenting to Allah's qada' and qadar. No need for human evaluation or talk. And this practice should be carried on even after we return from the holy lands.

This prayer helps:
اَللّٰهُمَّ اَلْهِمْنِىْ رُشْدِىْ وَاَعِذْنِىْ مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسِىْ
Oh Allah, inspire me with guidance and protect me from the evil of myself.
(Tirmizi vol.2 pg.186)

Hajj Reflection #11: Tafakkur

It is vital to spend some 'off' time from the world to be in tafakkur, the state of being reflective and contemplative. During tafakkur, I let go of all resistance, try to understand everything that is in the heart and allow my own attributes to melt into the attributes of Allah.

Whilst in this state, I personally find that it is best done when alone; where there is no room for any form of distraction or communication other than with Allah swt. For most, the early hours of the morning is perhaps the best time for spiritual solace.

In syaAllah, I believe that time spent on tafakkur should be increased as it will help us become more centred in the heart and hence, closer to Him.

Hajj Reflection #10: Tolerance

A test of tolerance. Imagine a crowd of 2-3 million people, gathered to perform the same rituals at the same designated time: either in the same mosque (Masjidil Haram), on the same plains (of Arafah), in the same stoning complex (Mina) or heading towards the same destination (traffic). Manic!

In theory, no matter how big the crowd is, there should not be any form of aggressive behaviour because everyone is there to perform an ibadah. Aren't we supposed to be calm and conscientious? On the contrary, people come in strong with their cultures and (bad) habits. They use force to bull through the thick crowds, without considering who they push or how others may feel. It is sad scenario.

Nonetheless, at moments such as this, I reminded myself incessantly that the test was on me: how patient and tolerant am I of others' actions? Am I able to bear, respect, accept and even appreciate the differences among us all? SubhanAllah... 

May Allah accept our ibadah and forgive our sins.

Hajj Reflection #9: Sacrifice

Hajj is full of sacrifice. The whole Hajj ritual constitutes various significant events of the past: the repeated running from Safa to Marwah as done by Siti Hajar in search of water for her son Ismail, the stoning at the three jamrahs as conducted by Prophet Ibrahim who was persuaded and taunted by the satan, and the sacrificing of a livestock portraying the extent Prophet Ibrahim was willing to sacrifice on his only (long-awaited) son.

Such symbolic sacrifices have deeper values. Right from the very beginning - when one decides to take on the challenge of Hajj, he/she is already willing to sacrifice so many things. Time, money, family, work and various forms of commitments are the obvious ones. More importantly, the willingness to travel approximately 7,000km from Malaysia to Makkah, a land where 2-3 million other pilgrims will gather; and where toilets, rooms, tents, transportations and space has to be shared, IS a series of big sacrifices!

Sacrifice is important in Islam. It is Allah's way of testing our imaan; whether we are sincere (ikhlas) in our actions, in the name of Allah.

It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety (taqwa) from you that reaches Him.
(Al-Hajj: 37)

Hajj Reflection #8: Supplications

Be prepared with your supplications. I am a conservative, this I shall not deny. Perhaps it roots from my upbringing and educational background. Thus during my hajj, I religiously followed the suggested supplications from the Hajj & Umrah guide book whereby specific supplications were read at different points of time, such as during each round of circumambulation (tawaf).

I appreciated this practice and strongly feel that it goes deeper than repeated zikr, "Allah, Allah", "SubhanAllah" or reading different surahs from juzuk 'Amma. Why? Because the suggested supplications are so detailed and will not compare to my own self-designed ones. Some are just spot on; the exact words you were looking for. For instance: "O Lord, make me one who is always appreciative of what you have bestowed unto me, please bless what you have awarded to me and replace what I have lost with something better from You."

SubhanAllah... Reading prepared scripts made my tears flow 90% of the time. I read the Arabic version, followed by the translations in BM. It didn't make me lose focus at all.  Everyone has their own preferences but I totally recommend this practice!

Hajj Reflection #7: The vacation

Hajj is an ibadah vacation - you do not have to cook, clean, drive or worry about family and work. Sleep has to be sacrificed and reprogrammed, as reminded by my dad. Alhamdulillah, I had no problems with the food served or the distance between hotel and mosque.

Allah willed me the health and strength to carry out my main objectives: hajj, umrah, solat sunat, quran reading, sadaqah and i'tikaf at the holy mosques. I aimed to do as much as possible, as best I could. He also opened doors for other forms of ibadah which weren't so obvious such as helping the elderly.

This particular doa helped.

 
And say: O my Lord, let my entry be by the Gate of Truth and Honour, and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honour: and grant me from Thy Presence an authority to aid (me).
(Al-Isra': 80)

Carpe diem, sieze the day! Hajj does not come by every day and I reminded myself repeatedly that in the holy lands, everything else was secondary.

May Allah accept our ibadah and make us better Muslims.